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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Hi I am andy
- Thread starter andye52
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Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Oh - you lost her?
Sorry - could not resist - you should find a lot of (serious) help online these days, particularly about diet.
I can control my levels just by eating a low carb diet.
when was the diagnosis and were you told what the Hba1c level was, or a blood glucose level?
Sorry - could not resist - you should find a lot of (serious) help online these days, particularly about diet.
I can control my levels just by eating a low carb diet.
when was the diagnosis and were you told what the Hba1c level was, or a blood glucose level?
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
How lovely that you have taken the initiative to do some online research and found your way to this forum to seek help for her.
Those BG readings are quite high and don't necessarily tie in with an HbA1c reading of 68 I think. I would have expected it to be higher. Are you sure that is the most recent test result and when was that taken?
What medication is she on and has she made any changes to her diet?
Can you tell us the sort of things she currently eats on an average day ie breakfast, lunch and dinner plus any snacks and what she drinks then perhaps we can make some lower carb suggestions, depending upon the medication she is taking...
It sounds like you have a BG meter to finger prick and test her blood so with a bit of guidance you should be able to use that to figure out which things in her diet are causing her particular problems. There is a post called Test review adjust which hopefully someone will link and which gives a suggested framework for testing to tailor your wife's diet to her tastes and diabetes.
How lovely that you have taken the initiative to do some online research and found your way to this forum to seek help for her.
Those BG readings are quite high and don't necessarily tie in with an HbA1c reading of 68 I think. I would have expected it to be higher. Are you sure that is the most recent test result and when was that taken?
What medication is she on and has she made any changes to her diet?
Can you tell us the sort of things she currently eats on an average day ie breakfast, lunch and dinner plus any snacks and what she drinks then perhaps we can make some lower carb suggestions, depending upon the medication she is taking...
It sounds like you have a BG meter to finger prick and test her blood so with a bit of guidance you should be able to use that to figure out which things in her diet are causing her particular problems. There is a post called Test review adjust which hopefully someone will link and which gives a suggested framework for testing to tailor your wife's diet to her tastes and diabetes.
Thank you for your reply , Normally we would both go to the doctors together as it helps to remember evey thing but can not now with coronavirus about. So not sure if Hba1c is correct, Metformin and gliclazide Weetabix or porridge for breakfast ,tea with milk. lunch sandwich cheese / ham /egg or tuna some times bacon. Evening meal fish and chips , gammon egg and chips, shepards pie with peas, i am going to make a list ,only just started,
Carbohydrate which is sugar ? so is it not the lower number g of sugar ? or am I looking at wrong ingredients ?
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @andye52 - your lady wife would be best to follow the testing regime described here -
https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html
All the meals you've mentioned have quite a lot of carbohydrate content and the one thing every single diabetic whatever type age colour or creed we are have in common is that our body can't deal with carbohydrate very well - if at all.
I think both of you will be shocked at how much her BG increases with that brekkie.
People on here can give her shedloads of tips on what they eat instead of breakfast cereal, or for other meals to achieve a better result.
https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html
All the meals you've mentioned have quite a lot of carbohydrate content and the one thing every single diabetic whatever type age colour or creed we are have in common is that our body can't deal with carbohydrate very well - if at all.
I think both of you will be shocked at how much her BG increases with that brekkie.
People on here can give her shedloads of tips on what they eat instead of breakfast cereal, or for other meals to achieve a better result.
Ralph-YK
Much missed Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
???
You've to look at carbohydrates. Potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, breakfast cereal, etc.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
It's ALL carbohydrate not just sugar (which happens to be almost 100% carb so it's obvious to cut that out as far as poss) but spuds, anything with flour in it eg pastry and pasta, rice, many juicy fruits, bananas are full of it, as are parsnips and definitely more in a carrot than a cabbage.
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
As your wife is taking gliclazide that can cause hypos if you start to go low carb suddenly - but it hammers insulin out of the pancreas which ca lead to it becoming exhaustion.
Lots of people on the forums have reduce the carbohydrate in their diet down to what they can cope with without medication and that seems to allow the metabolism to get back to more normal behaviour.
You do seem to have some 'wriggle room' as the blood glucose levels are rather high.
Personally I keep to below 8, as I know that will mean almost normal Hba1c.
Reducing/avoiding grain, potatoes and other starchy veges should help a lot.
Lots of people on the forums have reduce the carbohydrate in their diet down to what they can cope with without medication and that seems to allow the metabolism to get back to more normal behaviour.
You do seem to have some 'wriggle room' as the blood glucose levels are rather high.
Personally I keep to below 8, as I know that will mean almost normal Hba1c.
Reducing/avoiding grain, potatoes and other starchy veges should help a lot.
These are all high carb, instead of cereals you could have eggs even with bacon, instead of bread for lunch you could have cheese/egg/tuna with salad, evening meal swop chips and mash for lower carb veg, eg a shepherds pie is just as nice with cauliflower or celeriac mash.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
First off I would ask how many Weetabix or how much and what type of porridge.... all porridge is not made equal when it comes to how the glucose from it releases in the digestive tract. Investing in a set of digital scales is an important step along with keeping a food diary as our modern society has lost track of what a portion should actually look like and 50g of dry oats for porridge is not a lot but your wife should be looking at eating less than the recommended portion size so maybe just 30g. One Weetabix instead of 2 might be a good first step but then look at bulking her plate out with other low carb items like creamy Greek style yoghurt instead of milk and a few raspberries (one of the lowest carb fruits) and a sprinkle of mixed seeds or chopped nuts. Obviously avoid added sugar or honey or maple syrup etc. It may surprise you to know that full fat natural yoghurt, cream and whole milk are all lower in carbs than skimmed or semi skimmed, so just swapping to whole milk might be another small step to lowering her levels, particularly if she drinks a lot of tea or coffee throughout the day.
I sometimes have a 2 egg omelette with a variety of fillings usually including mushrooms, onion and cheese with a salad and a big dollop of cheese coleslaw for brunch and then have dinner in the evening, so just 2 meals instead of 3 with maybe a handful of nuts in between or some veggie sticks with a sour cream and chive dip or some olives if I feel peckish.
Other breakfasts can be creamy Greek natural yoghurt with berries and seeds and just a tiny sprinkle of low carb granola or a full English breakfast minus any beans, hash browns or toast or a Nature Valley Protein bar which makes a great grab and go breakfast and is just under 10g carbs per bar.
As @Drummer says, with your wife being on Gliclazide she needs to reduce her carb intake slowly and steadily otherwise her levels could drop too much and she could go low (hypo) It can be possible to gradually reduce carbs and then reduce the gliclazide and eventually come off it in some cases, but this needs to be done with the support of your health care professionals. At the moment her levels are quite high so there is room for some carb reduction without too much concern of dropping too low but do make sure she has hypo treatment (dextrose tablets or jelly babies or whatever) to hand at all times in case her levels do go low and be sure to test before treating.
If there is anything you don't understand please just ask.
I sometimes have a 2 egg omelette with a variety of fillings usually including mushrooms, onion and cheese with a salad and a big dollop of cheese coleslaw for brunch and then have dinner in the evening, so just 2 meals instead of 3 with maybe a handful of nuts in between or some veggie sticks with a sour cream and chive dip or some olives if I feel peckish.
Other breakfasts can be creamy Greek natural yoghurt with berries and seeds and just a tiny sprinkle of low carb granola or a full English breakfast minus any beans, hash browns or toast or a Nature Valley Protein bar which makes a great grab and go breakfast and is just under 10g carbs per bar.
As @Drummer says, with your wife being on Gliclazide she needs to reduce her carb intake slowly and steadily otherwise her levels could drop too much and she could go low (hypo) It can be possible to gradually reduce carbs and then reduce the gliclazide and eventually come off it in some cases, but this needs to be done with the support of your health care professionals. At the moment her levels are quite high so there is room for some carb reduction without too much concern of dropping too low but do make sure she has hypo treatment (dextrose tablets or jelly babies or whatever) to hand at all times in case her levels do go low and be sure to test before treating.
If there is anything you don't understand please just ask.
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